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24 March 2011

World Water Day 2011 (WWD 2011)

22 March 2011 | Cape Town, South Africa

World Water Day 2011 (WWD 2011) convened in Cape Town, South Africa on 22 March 2011. Under the theme of “Water for Cities: Responding to the Urban Challenge,” participants gathered to hear addresses from dignitaries such as His Royal Highness, Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, Chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB), Edna Molewa, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, South Africa, and Joan Clos, Under-Secretary General and Executive Director, UN-HABITAT. Panel discussions on water and sanitation infrastructure in Africa and the role of local government in bridging the water and sanitation gap, were also held.

Interspersed with performances from local musicians, participants were presented with key facts including that the urban population grows by two people every second and 27% of the urban population in the developing world does not have piped water in their house. With these issues at the fore, discussions focused on where the gaps lay and how best to solve these problems through: urban planning; public-private partnerships; using the expertise of local governments for effective implementation; and the necessity of adequate funding and political will.

This publication reports on a research project financed by
Canada’s International Development Research Centre (http://www.idrc.ca/).